Lt. Clay Higgins has become a local cultural phenomenon thanks to his weekly TV segments on the Lafayette ABC affiliate KATC. Higgins, who looks similar to a Marine Corps drill instructor, hosts reports highlighting wanted criminals in the quiet parish north of Lafayette and about 50 miles west of Baton Rouge.

"A muscled Army veteran and hardened street cop who rarely cracks a smile, Higgins may be the most irresistibly intimidating man in America," the Post wrote in a story published to its website Wednesday.

According to station employees, Higgins has a cult following. Viewers want more, more, more, KATC bosses have said. People watch him on TV, record his segments then share the segments on social media sites, like Facebook where Higgins and his on-liners create hundreds of posts and lengthy conversations.

"He's truly authentic," the station's news manager, Letitia Walker, told the Post. "Nothing is written for him. We show up, and he turns it on, and we just press record. He does everything in one take."

The Post shared multiple reports Higgins has done in its story, including where Higgins told a wanted fugitive "You can't hide from what you've done, and you'll never escape the long arm of the law."

Peter Holley, the Post reporter who wrote the story, likened Higgins to an everyday man, whose stern demeanor settles the most hardened criminals. Holley wrote Higgins is helping to show another side of officers in a time when the relationship with the people who wear a badge and the community they serve is stressed.

Higgins next segment is scheduled to be broadcast tonight, and Higgins is going after a crook who stole meat from a grocery store. The station often posts the segments online after the broadcast.***********Follow the publisher of this post on Twitter: @treyschmaltz